Swiss Mountain Runner Scales 10,000 Feet in 2 Hours

Talk about a thigh burner. In yet another test of human strength in bizarre corners of the world, Red Bull Sports brings us the ultimate in mountain running with the Red Bull K3 Race, a grueling 3,000 meter climb.

For most of us, the idea is a nightmare. Scale nearly 10,000 vertical feet as fast as you can. No thanks. But not for Swiss mountain runner and ski mountaineer Remi Bonnet who completed the Red Bull K3 Race in Italy in just over two hours. Bonnet, who looks skin and bones in pictures, accomplished the super human feet surpassing renowned ultra running and trail running super stars.

“I started without a goal, with no specific preparation. I didn’t have any expectation,” Bonnet told UltraRunTV.com. “Then on the way up I felt good. We took it easy up to 2,000m, then I realized that the other runners were a little slower With 750 vertical meters to go I pushed as hard as I could.”

In order to keep his pace Bonnet covered a blistering 4,902 vertical feet per hour. The total climb was the same as climbing about 10 Eiffel Towers. At only 20 years old, Bonnet is already junior world champion of ski mountaineering.

Sky running is one of the most grueling sports in the world, testing not only the strength of competitors, but their will and fortitude. Nobody enjoys climbing up hill, no matter how good you might be at it. Testing the limits of human capability, mountain running and ultrarunner are fast becoming an elite competitive sport. While there are other mountain running competitions, the Red Bull K3 Race is the only one of its length in vertical distance.